UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University women's basketball team held the lead in the first three quarters but fell 73-67 in the game against the Parkside Rangers Friday night. Senior Kaitlyn Zarycki led the way with a double-double of 26 points and 11 rebounds. Senior Tori DePerry contributed 15 points while adding six boards to the competition against the Rangers.
The Cardinals started strong with a 10-0 lead in the opening 15 seconds of the first quarter. Senior Tyler Scheid and Kaitlyn Zarycki hit back-to-back three-pointers to bring the score to 13-9 with two minutes remaining. The first quarter was polished off (18-12) with two jumpers made by DePerry and Zarycki to head into the second quarter.
Zarycki got things going with a jump shot in the first 10 seconds of the second quarter. The Rangers held on strong as they slowly increased the margin to 27-24 with 3:40 remaining. Senior Jessica Massey came in clutch with two of three of her assists to a three-point jump shot made by Sophomore Saniaa Walker with 0:34 remaining. SVSU and Parkside enter the locker room at the half with a score of 34-28, Cardinal's lead.
DePerry scored 9-15 of her points in the third quarter to tally up the score for the Cardinals. Through contact, Zarycki contributed seven rebounds and held the score 51-48 with 0:16 remaining. The Rangers hit a three-pointer in the last 15 seconds of the third quarter to break the lead and tie the game 51-51 going into the fourth quarter.
Parkside grabbed the lead 53-51 after sinking a layup in the first 45 seconds of the fourth quarter. The Cardinals held on to a slight lead of 58-56 from the help of DePerry with a made jump shot and free throw. The Rangers responded with a made layup and jumper to take back the lead with 5:55 remaining. Zarycki helped reduce the lead with four back-to-back free throws. The Cardinals were still in the game with 1:34 seconds left, but the Rangers held onto their lead. A three-point shot made by Freshmen Emma Dziezgowski stirred things up (67-69) with only 0:07 on the clock. After a continuous battle for the lead, the Rangers hit their final free throws down the stretch.
UP NEXT
The Cardinals will host another game this Sunday, December 11, inside the O'Neill Arena. Tipoff against Purdue Northwest is set for 1:00 PM.
